Adrian Durham shared he thought West Ham had improved their squad by signing Spanish playmaker Pablo Fornals from Villarreal.
The Hammers confirmed on their official website on Friday that they had signed the 23-year-old from the Spanish club and that he had penned a five-year-deal with the Londoners.
Durham shared that he thought Fornals was an improvement on the Hammers’ current options and highlighted that the player scored in the Europa League last season.
“Villarreal flirted with relegation, had a good run in the Europa League, he scored goals in the Europa League, I think he is an improvement on what they’ve got West Ham,” said Durham on talkSPORT (Friday June 14th, 16:50).
“So let’s see how he adapts to the Premier League, he is 23-years-old and he has been given a five-year deal.”
OPINION
Durham is ready to say Fornals improves Manuel Pellegrini’s midfield options, but then covers himself by saying that only time will tell if he adapts to the Premier League. The 23-year-old had an impressive 2018/19 campaign for Villarreal as he scored five and assisted six in the 50 outings he made. Three of Fornals’ goals and three of his assists came in the Europa League and that implies that he is a quality player. It’s no easy task to impress in a European competition after all, and given that Pellegrini’s side are no doubt trying to improve in order to qualify for a competition like the Europa League, having Fornals on board is a step in the right direction. However while the playmaker does look good on paper, just like Durham pointed out, no player is a guaranteed success. Fornals will need time to adapt to the demands of the Premier League and West Ham fans should be patience in the opening weeks of the season as a result.
